PAM. 

PACIF.  IS. 


C*66  I 


Four  Memorable  Years 


HILO. 


Rev.  S.  J.  Humphrey,  D.  d. 


District  Secretary  op  the  A.  B.  C.  F M., 
11-  W.  Washington  Street, 
Chicago,  Ilt,. 


The  venerable  Rev.  Titus  Coan  departed  this  life  at  his  home 
in  Hilo,  Sandwich  Islands,  Dec.  1,  1882.  He  was  born  Feb.  1, 
1801,  in  the  town  of  KilliDgwortb,  Conn,  having  attained  the 
age  of  nearly  eighty-two  years.  Although  not  having  pursued 
a full  course  of  preparation  for  the  ministry,  his  success  in 
evangelistic  labors  in  connection  with  the  revivals  that  fol- 
lowed the  preaching  of  his  cousin,  Rev.  Asahel  Nettleton,  and 
Rev.  Charles  G.  Finney,  led  to  1 is  licensure  April  17, 1833.  A 
few  monlhs  afterward  he  was  ordained,  and  on  August  16,1833, 
under  Ihe  direction  of  the  American  Board,  he  sailed  on  a mis- 
sion of  exploration  to  Patagonia.  Returning  after  some  strange 
adventures  he  was  mariied  at  Ctuichville,  N.  Y , on  monthly 
concert  evening,  Nov.  3, 1834,  to  Miss  Fidelia  Church,  and  on 
Dec.  5 embarked  on  the  ship  Hellespont  for  his  untiring  labors 
of  near! y half  a century  in  the  Sandwich  Islands.  Soon  after 
his  return  from  a visit  to  this  cc  untry  in  1870,  his  beloved  wife 
was  called  to  her  reward.  A most  happy  second  marriage 
cheered  his  later  years,  and  the  loving  wife  that  ministered 
tenderly  at  his  dying  bed  survives  to  mourn  his  loss.  A few 
months  ago  during  a revival  into  which  he  threw  himself  with 
unceasing  ardor  as  of  old,  he  was  suddenly  smitten  down  with 
a paralytic  shock.  For  several  weeks  he  lay  “ helpless,  with 
only  love,  joy,  peace  in  his  soul,  his  beautiful  patience  and 
submission,  completing  the  lesson  his  life  had  given  of  obedi- 
ence to  his  Lord.”  He  recovered  in  part,  so  that  the  day  be- 
fore his  death  he  was  carried  through  the  streets  “looking 
very  bright  and  natural.”  Almost  the  entire  village  flocked 
out  to  greet  him  and  all  were  glad  to  have  had  that  last  look. 
The  next  day  at  noon  he  wTas  standing  among  the  redeemed 
throng  on  high. 

January,  1883. 


FOUR  MEMORABLE  YEARS  AT  HILO 


By  Rev.  S.  J.  Humphrey,  D.D. 


THE  PARISH  AND  THE  PEOPLE. 

A strip  of  island  sea-coast  from  one  to  three  miles 
wide,  and  a hundred  long,  dotted  with  groves,  and 
seamed  across  by  the  deep  chasms  of  mountain  torrents; 
behind  this,  for  twenty-five  miles,  a belt  of  impervious 
jungle,  fencing  in,  since  the  days  of  Vancouver,  num- 
berless herds  of  wild  cattle;  beyond,  in  the  interior,  a 
rough,  volcanic  wilderness,  culminating  in  a summit 
14,000  feet  in  height — a chaos  of  craters,  some  on  the 
peaks  of  mountains,  and  some  yawning  suddenly  before 
you  in  the  forest,  some  long  idle,  some  ceaselessly 
active,  making  the  night  lurid  with  their  flames,  and 
still  building  at  the  unfinished  island;  one,  a vast,  fiery 
hollow,  three  miles  across,  the  grandest  lava  caldron  on 
the  globe;  15,000  natives  scattered  up  and  down  the 
sea  belt,  grouped  in  villages  of  from  100  to  300  persons, 
a vicious,  sensual,  shameless  and  yet  tractable  people, 
slaves  to  the  chiefs,  and  herding  together  almost  like 
animals — to  this  parish,  a strange  mingling  of  crags  and 
valleys,  of  torrents  and  volcanoes,  of  beauty  and  barren- 
ness, and  to  this  people,  a race  of  thieves,  drunkards 
and  adulterers,  thirty-five  years  ago,  was  called  the 
young  missionary,  Rev.  Titus  Coan.  And  here,  for  four 
memorable  years,  went  on  a work  of  grace  scarcely  par- 
alleled elsewhere  since  the  days  of  Pentecost. 

This  parish,  long  and  narrow,  occupies  the  eastern 
third  of  the  shore  belt  of  Hawaii.  It  comprises  two 
districts — Puna,  stretching  off  toward  the  south  in  black 
lava  fields,  with  here  and  there  a patch  of  verdure,  and 
a cluster  of  cabins,  and  Hilo,  on  the  north,  a fertile 
tract,  but  exceedingly  rough.  The  central  point  is  Hilo 
Bay,  which  opens  out  to  the  Pacific  toward  the  east  and 


4 


north.  Some  leaven  of  the  gospel  had  already  been 
cast  into  this  lump  of  heathenism.  Different  mission- 
aries had  resided  here  for  brief  periods.  Several  schools 
had  been  established,  and  about  one-fourth  of  the  na- 
tives could  read.  Rev.  D.  B.  Lyman  and  wife,  most 
efficient  co-laborers  with  Mr.  Coan,  were  already  on  the 
ground.  There  had  been  a marked  change  in  the  men- 
tal and  social  condition  of  the  natives.  A little  knowl- 
edge of  divine  truth — about  as  much,  perhaps,  as  our 
street  Arabs  possess — was  had  by  most  of  the  people. 
There  were  a few  hopeful  converts,  and  a little  church 
of  thirty-six  members  had  been  formed. 

A BEGINNING. 

After  a voyage  of  just  six  months  around  Cape  Horn, 
Mr.  Coan  reached  the  islands  June  6,  1835,  and  at 
once  engaged  in  the  work. 

To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lyman  came  the  charge  of  a board- 
ing school,  and  much  other  labor  at  the  home  station, 
while  to  Mr.  Coan,  robust  in  health,  and  fervid  as  a 
speaker,  the  preaching  and  the  touring  naturally  fell. 
His  mental  force  and  abounding  physical  life  revealed 
themselves  at  the  outset.  In  three  months’  time  he  be- 
gan to  speak  in  the  native  tongue,  and  before  the  year 
closed  he  had  made  the  circuit  of  the  island,  a canoe 
and  foot  trip  of  300  miles.  On  this  first  tour,  occupy- 
ing thirty  days,  he  nearly  suffered  shipwreck,  or 
rather  canoe-wreck,  as  also  twice  afterward  ; he 
preached  forty-three  times  in  eight  days,  ten  of 
them  in  two  days,  examined  twenty  schools  and 
more  than  1,200  scholars,  conversed  personally  with 
multitudes,  and  ministered  to  many  sick  persons,  for  he 
was,  in  a mild  way,  a physician  withal.  A letter  of  his, 
written  at  that  time,  says  also:  “I  have  a daily  school 

of  ninety  teachers,  and  Mrs.  C.  one  of  140  children,  be- 
sides a large  class  of  more  advanced  pupils.” 

This  vigorous  beginning,  however,  was  but  the  pre- 
lude to  the  more  incessant  labor  and  to  the  marvelous 
scenes  of  the  years  following. 


5 


PROVIDENTIAL  TRAININGS. 

When  God  has  a great  work  for  his  servants,  he 
usually  gives  them  some  special  training  for  it.  Mr. 
Coan  was  a townsman  and  cousin  of  Nettleton.  In  his 
early  ministry  he  was  a co-laborer  with  Finney.  He  had 
seen  God’s  Word  in  the  hands  of  these  men  be  as  a fire 
and  a hammer.  He  had  learned  what  truths  to  use,  and 
how  to  press  men  to  immediate  repentance,  and  he  had 
witnessed  many  conversions.  Before  he  went  to  the 
Islands  his  spiritual  nature  was  charged  with  the  divine 
electricity  of  a revival  atmosphere.  An  exploring  tour 
in  Patagonia,  where  he  had  been  sent  by  the  Board,  and 
where  he  lived  for  several  months,  on  horseback  with 
savage  nomads,  had  compacted  his  frame  and  inured  him 
to  hardship.  Who  shall  say  that  the  natives  were  not 
also  in  some  sort  trained  for  what  was  to  follow  ? May 
it  not  be  that  there  was  an  educating  power  in  the  volca- 
noes near  which  they  lived?  They  were  the  frequent 
witnesses  of  grand  and  terrible  sights — the  shudder  of 
earthquakes,  the  inflowing  of  great  tidal  waves,  the  dull 
red  glow  of  lava  streams,  the  leaping  of  fire  cataracts 
into  deep-lying  pools,  sending  off  the  water  in  steam, 
and  burning  them  dry  in  a night  time.  There  was  no 
day  when  the  smoke-breath  of  subterranean  furnaces 
was  out  of  their  sight.  Once  they  traced  a river  of 
lava  burrowing  its  way  to  the  sea,  1,500  feet  below  the 
surface,  and  saw  it  break  over  the  shore  cliff  and  leap 
into  the  hissing  waves.  Once  from  their  loftiest  mount- 
ain, a pillar  of  fire  200  feet  through,  lifted  itself,  for 
three  weeks,  1,000  feet  into  the  air,  making  darkness 
day  for  a hundred  miles  around,  and  leaving  as  its  mon- 
ument a vast  cone  a mile  in  circumference. 

The  people  who  were  familiar  with  such  scenes  could 
understand  at  least  what  Sinai  meant,  and  what  are 
“ the  terrors  of  the  Lord.” 

A SOUND  OF  GOING  IN  THE  MULBERRY  TREES. 

There  were  signs  of  unusual  attention  to  the  truth  on 
Mr.  Coan’s  first  tour,  the  latter  part  of  1835. 

“ Multitudes  flocked  to  hear,” — we  quote  from  our 


6 


pencilings  of  a recent  interview,  and  from  his  letters  to 
the  Board — “ many  seem  pricked  in  their  hearts.”  “ I 
had  literally  no  leisure,  so  much  as  to  eat.5'  “One 
morning  I found  myself  constrained  to  preach  three 
times  before  breakfast,  which  I took  at  ten  o’clock.” 
He  could  not  move  out  of  doors  without  being  thronged 
by  people  from  all  quarters.  They  stationed  themselves 
in  small  companies  by  the  wayside,  and  some  followed 
him  for  days  from  village  to  village  to  hear  the  gospel. 
Much  of  this,  doubtless,  was  surface  excitement  or  the 
mere  curiosity  of  an  idle  people.  But  some  of  it,  as 
the  event  proved,  was  the  working  of  a divine  leaven. 

The  tours  of  1836 — he  was  accustomed  to  make  four 
or  five  a year — revealed  that  the  work  was  deepening. 
“ I began  to  see  tokens  of  interest  that  I did  not  talk 
about,  that  I scarcely  understood  myself.  I would  say 
to  my  wife  on  returning,  ‘ The  people  turned  out  won- 
derfully.’ More  and  more  came  to  the  meetings  and 
crowded  around  me  afterward  to  inquire  the  way.”  “I 
preached  just  as  hard  as  I could.  There  was  a fire  in 
my  bones.  I felt  like  bursting.  I must  preach  to  this 
people.” 

a two  years’  camp-meeting. 

In  1837  the  great  interest  broke  out  openly.  It  was 
the  time  of  a wonderful  stir  through  all  the  Islands. 
Nearly  the  whole  population  of  Hilo  and  Puna  turned 
out  to  hear  the  Word.  The  sick  and  lame  were  brought 
on  litters  and  on  the  backs  of  men,  and  the  infirm  often 
crawled  to  the  trail  where  the  missionary  was  to  pass, 
that  they  might  catch  from  his  lips  some  word  of  life. 
And  now  began  a movement  to  which  the  history  of  the 
church  furnishes  no  parallel  since  its  first  revival.  The 
exigencies  of  the  case  demand  unusual  measures; 
15,000  people,  scattered  up  and  down  the  coast  for  a 
hnndred  miles,  hungry  for  the  divine  bread — what  is 
one  preacher,  or  at  most  two,  among  so  many?  He 
needs  the  wing  as  well  as  the  tongue  of  an  angel  to 
preach  to  them  the  everlasting  gospel.  But  he  is  mor- 
tal. The  preacher  cannot  go  to  them.  They  must 


1 


come  to  him.  And  so  whole  villages  gather  from  many 
miles  away  and  make  their  homes  near  the  mission  house. 
Two  thirds  of  the  entire  population  come  in.  Within 
the  radius  of  a mile  the  little  cabins  clustered  thick  as 
they  could  stand.  Hilo,  the  village  of  ten  hundred, 
saw  its  population  suddenly  swelled  to  ten  thousand, 
and  here  was  held,  literally,  a camp  meeting  of  two 
years.  At  any  hour  of  the  day  or  night  a tap  of  the 
bell  would  bring  together  a congregation  of  from  3,000 
to  6,000.  Meetings  for  prayer  and  preaching  were  held 
daily.  But  it  was  not  all  this.  The  entrance  of  the 
word  gave  light  in  every  way.  The  people  wrought 
with  a new  industry  at  their  little  taro  patches.  The 
sea  also  gave  them  food.  Schools  for  old  and  young 
went  on.  “ Our  wives  held  meetings  for  the  children, 
to  teach  them  to  attend  to  their  persons,  to  braid  mats, 
to  make  their  tapas,  hats  and  bonnets.”  “ Numerous 
and  special  meetings  were  held  for  all  classes  of  the 
people,  for  the  church,  for  parents,  mothers,  the  inquir- 
ing, and  for  church  candidates.”  There  was  no  disor- 
der. A Sabbath  quiet  reigned  through  the  crowded 
hamlet,  and  from  every  booth  at  dawn  and  at  nightfall 
was  heard  the  voice  of  prayer  and  praise. 

THE  GREAT  CONGREGATION. 

Let  us  look  in  upon  one  of  the  great  congregations. 
A protracted  meeting  is  going  on.  The  old  church,  85 
feet  wide  by  105  feet  long,  is  packed  with  a sweltering 
and  restless  mass  of  6,000  souls.  A new  church  near 
by  takes  the  overflow  of  3,000  more,  while  hundreds 
press  about  the  doors,  crowding  every  opening  with 
their  eager  faces.  What  a sight  is  there  to  look  upon. 
The  people  sit  upon  the  ground  so  close  that  no  one, 
once  fixed,  can  leave  his  place.  You  might  walk  over 
them,  but  to  walk  among  them  is  impossible.  It  is  a 
sea  of  heads  with  eyes  like  stars.  They  are  far  from 
being  still.  There  is  a strange  mingling  of  the  new 
interest  and  the  old  wildness,  and  the  heated  mass 
seethes  like  a caldron.  An  effort  to  sing  a hymn  is  then 
made.  The  rude,  inharmonious  song  would  shock  our 


8* 


ears,  but  the  attempt  is  honest,  and  God  accepts  it  as 
praise.  Prayer  is  offered  and  then  the  sermon  comes. 
The  view  is  most  affecting,  and  calls  for  all  the  power 
of  the  reaper  to  thrust  in  the  sickle.  The  great  theme 
is,  You  are  sinners,  great  sinners,  dead  in  trespasses  and 
sins:  Christ  died  to  save  you.  Submit  your  hearts  to 
God.  Believe  in  Christ  and  you  shall  live.  And  mul- 
titudes do  submit.  Under  the  pungent  setting  home 
of  the  truth,  the  whole  audience  tremble  and  weep,  and 
many  cry  aloud  for  mercy. 

THE  PREACHER  AND  THE  PREACHING. 

It  must  have  required  rare  gifts  to  control  such  meet- 
ings, in  order  to  secure  good  results.  But  Mr.  Coan 
seems  to  have  had  the  tact  and  ability  to  doit.  “ I would 
rise  before  the  restless,  noisy  crowd  and  begin.  It  wasn’t 
long  before  I felt  that  I had  got  hold  of  them.  There 
seemed  to  be  a chord  of  electricity  binding  them  to  me. 
I knew  that  I had  them,  that  they  would  not  go  away. 
The  Spirit  would  hush  them  by  thetiuth  till  they  would 
sob  and  cry,  What  shall  we  do?  and  the  noise  of  the 
weeping  would  be  so  great  I could  not  go  on.” 

“ The  themes  preached  were  the  simple  old  standard 
doctrines.  It  has  been  an  object  of  deep  and  uniform 
attention  to  keep  the  holy  law  of  God  constantly  blaz- 
ing before  the  minds  of  all  the  people,  and  to  hold  the 
claims  and  sanctions  of  the  gospel  in  near  and  warm 
contact  with  their  frigid  hearts.”  “ I preached  just  as 
plain  and  simple  as  I could;  applied  the  text  by  illus- 
trations until  the  whole  congregation  would  be  in  a 
quiver;  did  not  try  to  excite  them;  did  not  call  on  them 
to  rise  and  show  interest.”  It  was  God’s  truth  sent 
home  t>y  the  Spirit  that  seemed  to  do  the  work. 

And  there  were  not  wanting  those 

PHYSICAL  MANIFESTATIONS 

which  have  usually  accompanied  the  mightier  works  of 
grace — especially  among  ruder  peoples.  Under  the 
pressure  of  the  truth  there  would  be  weeping,  sighing 
and  outcries.  “When  we  rose  for  prayer  some  would  fall 


9 


down  in  a swoon.  There  were  hundreds  of  such  cases. 
I did  not  think  much  of  it.  On  one  occasion  I preached 
from  “ Madness  is  in  their  hearts.”  I can  see  them  now. 
It  was  such  a scene!  The  truth  seemed  to  have  an  in- 
tense power.  A woman  rose — she  was  a beautiful  wo- 
man— and  cried,  “Oh!  I’m  the  one;  madness  is  in  my 
heart!”  She  became  a true  Christian.  A man  cried  out: 
“There’s  a two-edged  sword  cutting  me  in  pieces;  my 
flesh  is  all  flying  in  the  air!’  There  was  a backwoods  na- 
tive, wicked,  stout,  who  had  come  in  to  make  fun. 
When  we  rose  to  pray  he  nudged  those  about  him  with 
his  elbows  to  make  them  laugh.  All  at  once  he  dropped 
like  a log — fell  suddenly.  When  he  came  to,  he  said, 
‘ God  has  struck  me.’  He  was  subdued  and  gave  evi- 
dence of  being  a true  Christian.  Once,  on  a tour,  I was 
preaching  in  the  fields  at  a protracted  meeting.  There 
were  perhaps  2,000  present.  In  the  midst  of  the  sermon 
a man  cried  out:  “ Alas!  what  shall  I do  to  be  saved!” 
and  he  prayed  “God  be  merciful  to  me,  a sinner!”  and 
the  whole  congregation  did  the  same, — joined  in  with 
ejaculations.  It  was  a thrilling  scene.  I could  get  no 
chance  to  speak  for  half  an  hour,  but  stood  still  to  see 
the  salvation  of  God.  There  were  many  such  scenes. 

But  men  would  come  and  say, 

‘ WHY  DON’T  YOU  PUT  THIS  DOWN  ?’ 

My  answer  was,  ‘ I didn’t  get  it  up.’  I didn’t  believe 
the  devil  would  set  men  to  praying,  confessing  and 
breaking  off  their  sins  by  righteousness.  These  were 
the  times  when  thieves  brought  back  what  they  had 
stolen.  Lost  things  reappeared  and  quarrels  were  rec- 
onciled. The  lazy  became  industrious.  Thousands 
broke  their  pipes  and  gave  up  tobacco.  Drunkards 
stopped  drinking.  Adulteries  ceased  and  murderers 
confessed  their  crimes.  Neither  the  devil  nor  all  the 
men  of  the  world  could  have  got  this  up.  Why  should 
I put  it  down?  In  the  Old  Testament  church  there 
were  times  when  the  weeping  of  the  people  was  heard 
afar.  I always  told  the  natives  that  such  demonstrations 
were  of  no  account,  no  evidence  of  conversion.  I ad- 


10 


vised  to  quietness.  I said,  if  they  were  SDrry  for  their 
sins,  God  knew  it;  if  they  were  forgiven  they  need  not 
continue  to  weep.  And  I especially  tried  to  keep  them 
from  hypocrisy.” 

THE  GREAT  TIDAL  WAVE. 

In  this  work  God’s  providences  wrought  with  his 
Spirit.  Notwithstanding  the  great  interest,  many  op- 
posed it  and  hardened  themselves.  But  God  had  a ser- 
mon for  them  more  pungent  than  human  lips  could  ut- 
ter. It  was  Nov.  7,  1837.  The  revival  was  at  its  height, 
and  a protracted  meeting  was  going  forward.  The  cres- 
cent sand-beach,  the  most  beautiful  in  the  world, 
dotted  all  over  its  mile  and  a half  of  length  with  the  na- 
tive booths,  and  reaching  up  into  the  charming  groves 
behind,  smiled  in  security.  A British  whaler  swung 
idly  at  its  moorings  in  the  harbor,  and  the  great  ocean 
slept  in  peace.  The  day  opened  as  usual  with  the  na- 
tives out  en  masse  for  the  daybreak  prayer-meeting,  and 
the  customary  routine  went  on, — a scattering  for  break- 
fast, a flocking  together  for  the  nine  o’clock  sermon — 
there  were  four  preached  each  day — with  the  accus- 
tomed crush  of  6,000  inside  the  old  church,  and  the 
swarms  pressing  about  the  doors  and  windows,  then  the 
usual  surging  of  inquirers  and  the  crowds  following  the 
missionaries  to  their  homes,  and  then  again  the  sermon 
at  twelve  and  a half,  and  so  on  through  the  day.  There 
must  have  been  a funeral  that  day,  for  the  natives  tell, 
although  the  preacher  does  not  remember  it,  that  the 
text  was,  “ Be  ye  also  ready.”  At  seven  o’clock  in  the 
evening,  just  as  Mr.  Coan  was  calling  his  family  togeth- 
er for  prayers,  a heavy  sound  was  heard,  as  of  a falling 
mountain  upon  the  beach.  Immediately  a great  cry  and 
wailing  arose,  and  a scene  of  indescribable  confusion 
followed.  “ The  sea,  by  an  unseen  hand,  had,  all  on  a 
sudden,  risen  in  a gigantic  wave,  and,  rushing  in  with 
the  rapidity  of  a race  horse,  had  fallen  upon  the  shore, 
sweeping  everything  into  indiscriminate  ruin.  Men,  wo- 
men, children,  houses,  canoes,  food,  clothing,  everything 
floated  wild  upon  the  flood.  So  sudden,  so  unexpected, 


11 


was  the  catastrophe,  that  the  people  were  literally  ‘eat- 
ing and  drinking,’  and  they ‘knew  not  till  the  flood 
came  and  swept  them  all  away.’  The  wave  fell  upon  them 
like  the  bolt  of  heaven,  and  no  man  had  time  to  flee,  or 
save  his  garment.  In  a moment  hundreds  of  people 
were  struggling  with  the  raging  billows  and  in  the 
midst  of  their  earthly  all.  Some  were  dashed  upon  the 
shore,  some  were  drawn  out  by  friends  who  came  to  their 
relief,  some  were  carried  out  to  sea  by  the  retiring  cur- 
rent, and  some  sank  to  rise  no  more  till  the  noise  of  the 
judgment  wakes  them.”  Through  the  great  mercy 
of  God  only  thirteen  were  drowned.  But  the  loud  roar 
of  the  ocean,  the  cries  of  distress,  the  shrieks  of  the  per- 
ishing, the  frantic  rush  of  hundreds  to  the  shore,  and  the 
desolation  there  presented,  combined  to  make  it  a scene 
of  thrilling  and  awful  interest.  There  was  no  sleep  that 
night.  “ To  the  people  it  seemed  to  be  as  the  voice  of 
Almighty  God  when  he  speaketh.”  The  next  day  the 
meetings  went  on  with  renewed  power,  and  through  all 
the  week,  as  the  sea  gave  up,  one  after  another,  its  dead, 
and  the  people  with  funeral  rites  bore  them  to  their  rest- 
ing-places, the  Spirit  set  home  this  new  sermon  with  di 
vine  effect. 

A SANDWICH  ISLAND  CI10RAZIN. 

The  scenes  of  the  Bible  seemed  to  repeat  themselves 
with  an  almost  startling  likeness  in  some  of  the  inci- 
dents of  this  work.  We  will  speak  of  but  one.  In  a 
secluded  valley  of  Puna  there  was  a village — a small 
one — peculiarly  wicked.  It  was  a depth  below  the 
deep  of  the  heathenism  around.  The  missionary 
took  special  pains  with  them  for  two  or  three  years 
with  no  good  results.  The  people  hardened  themselves, 
and  with  a “superfluity  of  naughtiness”  denied  food  to 
those  who  came  to  them  with  the  gospel.  “ One  time  I 
went  there  with  a number  of  native  Christians  to  hold 
a meeting.  ‘ Haven’t  you  any  food?’  I said,  ‘ not  even 
a potato?’  ‘ No,  not  half  a potato.’  Night  came  on 
and  my  men  lay  down,  hungry  as  bears.  When  the 
villagers  thought  we  were  asleep,  we  heard  them  go 


12 


to  the  foot  of  a tree,  uncover  their  food  and  eat.  In 
the  morning  I said  to  them,  ‘ I have  come  time  after 
time  preaching,  and  you  never  gave  me  so  much  as  a 
cocoanut.  I do  not  care  for  myself,  but  here  are  these 
hungry  men.  I shake  off  the  dust  of  my  feet  against 
you.  I will  never  come  again  till  called.’  In  a short 
time,  although  they  were  forty  miles  from  'port,  the 
small-pox  singled  them  out,  and  nearly  every  person 
died.  There  were  only  three  or  four  survivors.  And 
in  1840  a lava  flood  came  down  upon  them,  scathing 
every  tree,  burning  every  house,  obliterating  the  very 
site  of  the  village,  and  leaving  only  a black  lava  field.” 
But  this  was  the  Lord’s  “strange  work.”  To  multi- 
tudes he  was  the  merciful  God.  The  case  of 

THE  HIGH  PRIEST  AND  PRIESTESS  OF  PELE 

is  of  peculiar  interest.  He  was  a man  of  majestic 
presence,  six  feet  five  inches  in  height,  and  his  sister, 
co-ordinate  with  him  in  power,  was  nearly  as  tall.  As 
great  high  priest  of  the  volcano  thirty  miles  away,  his 
business  was  to  keep  the  dreadful  Pele  appeased.  He 
lived  upon  the  shore,  but  went  up  often  writh  sacrifices 
to  the  fiery  home  of  their  deity.  If  a human  victim 
was  needed,  he  only  had  to  look,  and  point,  and  the 
poor  native  was  immediately  strangled.  He  was  not 
only  the  embodiment  of  heathen  piety,  but  of  heathen 
crimes.  So  fierce  and  tyrannical  was  his  temper  that 
no  native  dared  tread  on  his  shadow.  Robbery  was  his 
pastime.  More  than  once  he  had  struck  a man  dead 
for  his  food  and  garment — the  whole  of  it  not  worth 
fifty  cents.  At  last  he  crept  into  one  of  the  meetings, 
and  the  truth  laid  hold  of  him.  He  came  again  and 
again,  and  would  sit  on  the  ground  by  the  preacher, 
weeping  and  confessing  his  crimes.  “ I have  been  de- 
ceived,” he  said.  “ I have  lived  in  darkness  and  did 
not  know  the  true  God.  I worshiped  what  was  no 
God.  I renounce  it  all.  The  true  God  has  come.  He 
speaks.  I bow  down  to  him.  I want  to  be  his  child.” 
His  sister  came  soon  after,  and  they  stayed  months  to  be 
taught.  The  change  in  them  was  most  wonderful. 


13 


they  became  quiet  and  docile,  and  after  due  probation 
were  received  to  the  church.  They  were  then  about 
seventy  years  old,  and  a few  years  afterward  they  died 
in  peace,  witnessing  to  the  marvelous  grace  of  God. 

THE  SWORD  OP  THE  LORD  AND  OP  GIDEON. 

In  the  year  1818  the  waves  of  salvation  rolled  deep 
and  broad  over  the  whole  field,  and  the  converts  were 
numbered  by  thousands.  To  us  who  seldom  see  above 
100  accessions  to  a church  from  a revival,  this  appears 
almost  incredible.  And  how  such  a work  could  have 
been  managed  and  made  to  stand  in  permanent  results 
seems  a mystery.  There  were  but  two  missionaries,  a 
lay  preacher,  and  their  wives.  The  extremes  of  the 
parish  were  a hundred  miles  apart.  Portions  of  it  were 
reached  only  at  the  peril,  almost,  of  life  and  limb.  It 
ts  true  that  thousands  came  in  to  the  central  station 
from  the  far-off  villages,  and  stayed  many  months.  But 
this  could  not  last.  By  what  aids  and  means  were  such 
results  wrought  and  secured  in  permanency?  There 
was  a marvelous  outpouring  of  the  Spirit.  This  was 
first  and  highest.  The  battle  cry  was  “ The  sword  of 
the  Lord.”  But  it  was  also  “The  sword  of  Gideon.” 
The  human  means  used  were  adapted  to  produce  the 
results.  Mr.  Coan  was  greatly  assisted  by  his  associates. 
Mr.  Lyman  was  a true  yoke-fellow  alternating  with  him, 
in  addition  to  his  school  labor,  in  preaching  at  the  pro- 
tracted meetings.  The  missionaries’  wives,  surrounded 
by  the  brood  of  their  own  little  children,  held  daily 
meetings  with  the  women,  the  audiences  sometimes 
numbering  thousands.  But  to  the  method,  energy  and 
zeal  of  Mr.  Coan  the  chief  place  must  be  given. 

ITINERATING. 

As  we  turn  over  his  letters,  written  at  that  time,  the 
wisdom  to  plan  and  the  strength  to  execute,  which  were 
given  him  of  the  Lord,  seem  marvelous.  Often  on  his 
trips  he  preached  twenty  or  thirty  sermons  a week,  and 
this  was  but  part  of  the  labor.  “ On  these  tours,”  he 
says,  “ I usually  spend  from  two  to  five  weeks  visiting 


14 


all  the  church  members  in  their  respective  villages,  call- 
ing all  their  names,  hoi  ling  personal  interviews  with 
them,  inquiring  into  their  states,  their  hearts,  prayers, 
and  manner  of  living;  counseling,  reproving  and  encour- 
aging, as  the  case  may  require;  and  often  ‘ breaking 
bread’  from  place  to  place.”  The  physical  labor  of  these 
tours  was  not  small.  The  northern  part  of  his  parish 
was  crossed  by  sixty-three  ravines — we  see  his  method 
by  the  exact  count  of  them  he  has  recorded — from  twenty 
to  a thousand  feet  in  depth.  “In  many  of  them  the 
banks  are  perpendicular,  and  can  only  be  ascended  by 
climbing  with  the  utmost  care,  or  descended  only  by 
letting  one’s  self  down  from  crag  to  crag  by  the  hands. 
In  times  of  rain  these  precipices  are  very  slippery  and 
dangerous,  and  in  many  places  the  traveler  is  obliged 
to  wind  his  way  along  the  sides  of  a giddy  steep,  where 
one  step  of  four  inches  from  the  track  would  plunge  him 
to  a fearful  depth  below.”  And  then  the  rivers,  leap- 
ing and  foaming  along  the  old  fire  channels,  “ dashing 
down  innumerable  precipices,  and  urging  their  noisy 
way  to  the  ocean,”  how  shall  they  be  crossed?  “ Some 
of  them  I succeeded  in  fording,  some  I swam  by  the 
help  of  a rope,  to  prevent  me  from  being  swept  away, 
and  over  some  1 was  carried  passively  on  the  broad 
shoulders  of  a native,  while  a company  of  strong  men 
locked  hands  and  stretched  themselves  across  the  stream, 
just  below  me  and  just  above  a near  cataract,  to  save 
me  from  going  over  it,  if  my  bearer  should  fall.”  This 
experience  would  often  be  repeated  three  or  four  times 
a day.  “ My  least  weekly  number  of  sermons  is  six  or 
seven,  and  the  greatest  twenty-five  or  thirty,  often  trav- 
eling in  drenching  rains,  crossing  rapid  and  dangerous 
streams,  climbing  slippery  and  beetling  precipices, 
preaching  in  the  open  air,  and  sometimes  in  wind  and 
rain,  with  every  garment  saturated  with  water.” 

THE  FAITHFUL  PASTOR. 

But  it  was  only  by  an  exact  and  steadily- worked  sys- 
tem that  Mr.  Coan  could  “ overtake  ” his  parish  of  15,000 
souls.  Not  Dr.  Chalmers  nor  Pastor  Harms  knew  their 


15 


people  better  than  he.  When  his  church  numbered 
more  than  5,000  he  could  say,  “ My  knowledge  of  the 
religious  experiences  and  daily  habits  of  the  individuals 
of  my  flock  at  the  present  time  is  more  minute  and 
thorough  than  it  was  when  the  church  numbered  only 
fifty  or  a hundred  members.”  “By  drawing  lines  in  my 
parish;  by  dividing  the  people  into  sections  and  classes; 
by  attending  to  each  class  separately,  systematically  and 
at  a given  time,  and  by  a careful  examination  and  a fre- 
quent review  of  every  individual  in  each  respective 
class;  by  keeping  a note-book  always  in  my  pocket  to  re- 
fresh my  memory;  by  the  help  of  many  faithful  church 
members,  and  by  various  other  collateral  helps,  I am 
enabled,  through  the  grace  of  God,  togain  tenfold  more 
knowledge  of  the  individuals  of  my  flock,  and  of  the 
candidates  for  church  membership,  than  I once  thought 
it  possible  to  obtain  in  such  circumstances.” 

FEED  MY  LAMBS. 

The  children  did  not  escape  his  care.  From  his  ear- 
liest ministry  he  had  believed  in  childhood  conversions. 
When  in  this  country  a few  weeks  since — now  vener- 
able with  his  seventy  years — a woman  in  Baltimore  said 
to  him,  “When  I was  eight  years  old  you  took  me  in 
your  lap  and  talked  to  me  of  Christ.  I was  converted 
then.”  This  practical  faith  in  the  conversion  of  chil- 
dren led  him  to  give  them  special  and  constant  care. 
Beside  Sabbath-school  instruction  a regular  weekly 
lecture  was  maintained  for  them  through  the  year. 
There  were  also  numerous  occasional  meetings  for 
different  classes  of  children — for  those  in  church 
fellowship,  for  baptized  children  and  for  the  anxious. 
During  the  protracted  meetings  there  was  usually  a 
sermon  each  day  for  them  at  eight  o’clock  in 
the  morning.  As  the  result  of  this  faithfulness  there 
were  in  1838  about  400  children,  between  the  ages  of 
five  and  fifteen  years,  connected  with  his  church. 

SEEKING  THE  LOST. 

It  was  a settled  plan  that  there  should  be  no  living 


16 


person  in  all  Puna  or  Hilo,  who  had  not  had  the  claims 
of  the  gospel  repeatedly  pressed  upon  him.  There  was 
no  village  so  remote,  insignificant  or  inaccessible,  that 
it  did  not  receive  frequent  visits.  If  a native  family, 
through  freak  of  temper  or  stress  of  fortune,  had  hid 
itself  away  in  some  fastness  of  the  mountain,  it  was 
tracked  out  and  plied  with  the  invitations  of  mercy. 

NATIVE  HELPERS. 

To  do  this  required  the  active  co-operation  of  the 
church.  “ Many  of  the  more  discreet,  prayerful  and  in- 
telligent of  the  members  were  stationed  at  important 
posts,  with  instructions  to  hold  conference  and  prayer 
meetings,  conduct  Sabbath  schools,  and  watch  over  the 
people.  Some  of  these  native  helpers  were  men  full  of 
faith  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  they  succeeded  admir- 
ably.” “ Other  active  members  were  selected  and  sent 
forth,  two  and  two,  into  every  village  and  place  of  the 
people.  They  went  everywhere  preaching  the  word. 
They  visited  the  villages,  climbed  the  mountains,  trav- 
ersed the  forests,  and  explored  the  glens  in  search  of 
the  wandering  and  the  dying  sons  of  Hawaii.  On  one 
occasion  Mr.  Coan  sent  out  about  forty  church  mem- 
bers to  visit  from  house  to  house,  and  in  all  the  ‘ high- 
ways and  hedges,’  within  five  miles  of  the  station. 
They  were  instructed  to  pray  in  every  house,  to  look 
after  all  the  sick,  the  wretched  and  the  friendless,  to 
stir  up  the  minds  of  the  converts,  and  to  gather  the 
children.  Two  days  were  spent  in  this  way.  Every 
cottage  was  entered,  every  fastness  of  Satan  scoured. 
The  immediate  result  was,  that  several  back -loads  of 
tobacco,  awa  and  pipes  were  brought  in  and  burnt, 
and  about  500  hitherto  careless  and  hardened  ones  were 
gathered  into  the  house  of  God  to  hear  the  words  of 
life.  The  Spirit  of  the  Lord  fell  upon  them,  and  it  is 
believed  that  many  of  them  were  born  again.” 

Many  of  these  natives  were  wonderfully  gifted  in 
prayer.  “ They  take  God  at  his  word,”  says  Mr.  Coan, 
“ and  with  a simple  and  child-like  faith,  unspoiled  by 
tradition  or  vain  philosophy,  they  go  with  boldness  to 


17 


the  throne  of  grace.”  “ How  often  have  I blushed,  and 
felt  like  hiding  my  face  in  the  dust,  when  I have  wit- 
nessed their  earnest  wrestlings,  and  have  seen  how  like 
princes  they  have  had  power  with  God  and  have  pre- 
vailed.” “ With  tears,  with  soul-melting  fervor,  and 
with  that  earnest  importunity  which  takes  no  denial, 
they  often  plead  the  promises,  and  receive  what  appear 
to  be  the  most  direct  and  unequivocal  answers  to  their 
prayers.” 


AN  INGATHERING. 


The  great  harvest  years  were  1838  and  1839.  Seven 
or  eight  thousand  natives  had  professed  conversion,  but 
very  few  had  thus  far  been  received  to  the  church.  The 
utmost  care  was  taken  in  selecting,  examining,  watch- 
ing and  teaching  the  candidates.  The  ever-faithful 
note  book  was  constantly  in  hand.  Those  from  the 
distant  villages  came  in  and  sppnt  several  months  at 
the  station  previous  to  their  union  to  the  church.  Day 
by  day  they  were  watched  over  and  instructed  with  un- 
ceasing labor.  Together  with  those  on  the  ground, 
they  were  examined  and  re-examined  personally  many 
times,  sifted  and  re-sifted,  with  scrutiny  and  with  every 
effort  to  take  forth  the  precious  from  the  vile.  Many 
of  them  were  converts  of  two  years’  standing.  A still 
larger  class  had  been  on  the  list  for  more  than  one 
year,  and  a smaller  number  for  a less  period.  The  ac- 
cepted ones  stood  propounded  for  several  weeks,  and 
the  church  and  the  world,  friends  and  enemies,  were 
called  upon  and  solemnly  charged  to  testify  if  they 
knew  aught  against  any  of  the  candidates. 

The  communion  seasons  were  held  quarterly,  and  at 
these  times  the  converts,  thus  carefully  sifted,  were 
added  to  the  church.  The  first  Sabbath  of  January, 
1838,  104  were  received.  Afterward,  at  different 
times,  502,  450,  786,  357,  and  on  one  occasion  a much 
larger  number.  The  station  report  for  the  mission 
year  ending  June,  1839,  gives  the  number  of  accessions 
for  that  twelve  months  at  5,244. 

A large  number  of  these  never  came  to  the  central 


18 


station.  The  sick,  the  aged  and  the  infirm  were  bap- 
tized and  received  into  fellowship  at  their  own  villages. 
Some  believers  were  thus  accepted  who  could  neither 
walk  nor  be  carried,  and  who  lived  far  up  in  the  mount- 
ains, where  the  only  water  for  baptism  that  could  be 
found  were  the  few  drops  trickling  from  the  roof  of 
caves. 

A MEMORABLE  COMMUNION. 

The  first  Sabbath  of  July,  1838,  was  a memorable 
one,  not  only  in  this  church,  but  in  the  history  of  Mis- 
sions. It  was  the  day  of  the  greatest  accession.  On 
that  afternoon  1,705  men,  women  and  children,  who 
aforetime  had  been  heathen,  were  baptized,  and  took 
upon  them  the  vows  of  God;  and  about  2,400  communi- 
cants sat  down  together  at  the  table  of  their  Lord. 
We  look  in  upon  that  scene  with  wonder  and  awe.  The 
great  crush  of  people  at  the  morning  sermon  has  been 
dismissed,  and  the  house  is  cleared.  Down  through 
the  middle,  as  is  fitting,  are  seated  first  the  original 
members  of  the  church,  perhaps  fifty  in  number.  The 
missionary  then  calls  upon  the  head  man  of  each  vil- 
lage to  bring  forward  his  people.  With  note-book  in 
hand,  he  carefully  selects  the  converts  who  have  been  pre- 
viously accepted.  They  have  been  for  many  weeks  at  the 
station.  No  pains  have  been  spared,  no  test  left  un- 
used with  each  individual,  to  ascertain  if  he  be  truly  a 
child  of  God.  The  multitude  of  candidates  is  then 
seated  upon  the  earth  floor,  in  close  rows,  with  space 
enough  between  for  one  to  walk.  There  is  prayer  and 
singing,  and  an  explanation — made  many  times  before, 
lest  any  shall  trust  in  the  external  rite — is  given  of  the 
baptism  they  are  now  to  receive.  Then,  with  a basin 
of  water  in  his  hand,  lapidly,  reverently  he  passes  back 
and  forth  along  the  silent  rows,  and  every  head  receives 
the  sealing  ordinance.  When  all  have  been  baptized, 
he  advances  to  the  front,  and  raising  his  hands,  pro- 
nounces the  hallowed  words:  “I  baptize  you  all  into 
the  name  of  the  Father,  the  Son  and  the  Holy  Ghost.” 
“I  never  witnessed  such  a scene  before,”  said  he,  look- 


ing  back  through  the  lapse  of  thirty  years.  “ There 
was  a hush  upon  the  vast  crowd  without,  who  pressed 
about  the  doors  and  windows.  The  candidates  and  the 
church  were  all  in  tears,  and  the  overshadowing  pres- 
ence of  God  was  felt  in  every  heart.” 

Then  followed  the  sacrament.  And  who  are  these 
that  take  into  their  hands  the  emblems  of  the  Lord’s 
death?  Let  him  tell  who  broke  the  bread  and  gave 
the  cup. 

“ The  old  and  decrepit,  the  lame,  the  blind,  the 
maimed,  the  withered,  the  paralytic,  and  those  afflicted 
with  divers  diseases  and  torments;  those  with  eyes, 
noses,  lips  and  limbs  consumed  with  the  fire  of  their 
own  or  their  parents’  former  lusts,  with  features  distort- 
ed and  figures  the  most  depraved  and  loathsome,  these 
come  hobbling  upon  their  staves,  and  led  or  borne  by 
their  friends,  and  sit  down  at  the  table  of  the  Lord. 
Among  this  throng  you  will  see  the  hoary  priest  of  idol- 
atry, with  hands  but  recently,  as  it  were,  washed  from 
the  blood  of  human  victims,  together  with  the  thief,  the 
adulterer,  the  sodomite,  the  sorcerer,  the  highway  rob- 
ber, the  blood-stained  murderer,  and  the  mother — no, 
the  monster — whose  hands  have  reeked  in  the  blood  of 
her  own  children.  All  these  meet  together  before  the 
cross  of  Christ,  with  their  enmity  slain,  and  themselves 
washed  and  sanctified,  and  justified  in  the  name  of  the 
Lord  Jesus,  and  by  the  Spirit  of  our  God.”  Has  Jesus 
come  again?  Is  this  one  of  the  crowds  which  he  has 
gathered,  upon  whom  he  has  pronounced  the  words 
of  healing?  Surely  it  is.  In  very  deed  he  is  there. 
These  are  the  lost  whom  the  Son  of  Man  came  to 
seek  and  to  save.  And  the  rejoicing  angels  are  there. 
They  leave  behind  the  pomp  of  cathedrals,  and  fly  with 
eager  wing  to  this  lowly  Island  tabernacle.  With  holy 
wonder,  with  celestial  delight,  they  hover  over  the 
bowed  heads  of  these  weeping,  redeemed  sinners.  And 
heaven  catches  the  joy.  “ The  bright  seraphim  in 
burning  row,”  ring  out  anew  the  praises  of  the  Highest 


20 


as  they  hear  recounted  these  marvelous  triumphs  of 
Almighty  grace. 

DO  THESE  RESULTS  ABIDE? 

Tried  by  any  proper  standard,  the  results  do  abide. 
There  were  reactions.  But  what  revival  in  America — 
where  the  people  garner  into  themselves  the  growth, 
culture,  moral  stamina  of  a thousand  Christian  years — 
is  not  followed  by  reaction  ? There  were  apostasies. 
But  did  there  not  appear  one  in  Christ’s  Twelve,  and 
many  in  the  apostles’  churches?  On  examining  the 
matter  with  some  care,  we  are  constrained  to  say  that 
the  permanence  of  the  results  seems  to  us  almost  as 
marvelous  as  the  revival  itself.  During  the  five  years 
ending  June,  1841,  7,557  persons  were  received  to  the 
church  at  Hilo.  This  embraced  about  three-fourths  of 
the  entire  adult  population  of  the  parish.  The  propor- 
tion of  those  under  discipline  was  about  one  in  sixty — 
a discipline  stricter  than  ours  at  home,  and  that  among 
mere  babes  in  Christ.  The  greater  part  of  these  were 
restored,  and  the  finally  excommunicated  were  few. 
The  accessions  from  that  day  to  this  have  been  constant. 
“ I never  administered  the  quarterly  sacrament  without 
receiving  from  ten  to  twenty  persons.  No  year  has  the 
number  gone  below  fifty.  It  did  not  prove  a great  ex- 
citement to  die  out.  When  I left,  in  April,  1870, 1 had 
received  into  the  church,  and  myself  baptized,  11,960 
persons,  and  had  also  baptized  about  4,000  infants.” 

Under  this  training  the  people  became  more  and  more 
settled  in  faith  and  morals.  An  irruption  of  Catholic 
priests,  backed  up  by  French  cannon  and  brandy,  drew 
away  almost  none  of  them..  There  never  was  a grog 
shop  in  the  entire  parish.  It  is  probable  that  there  are 
to-day  more  people,  in  proportion,  in  Illinois,  who  can- 
not read  and  write,  than  in  Hilo  and  Puna.  Not  in  New 
England  is  the  Sabbath  better  observed;  and  the  indus- 
tries of  civilization  have  now  largely  taken  the  place  of 
the  old  savage  indolence. 

In  1867,  the  grand  old  church  was  divided  into  seven 
local,  independent  churches,  six  of  them  with  native 


21 


pastors.  Three  of  these  are  on  the  lava  fields  of  the 
south,  and  three  among  the  ravines  of  the  north.  The 
remaining  one  is  at  Hilo,  where,  also,  is  an  American 
church  for  the  foreign  population.  To  accommodate  the 
widely  scattered  people,  these  churches  have  built  fifteen 
places  of  worship,  holding  from  500  to  3,000.  Five  of 
them  have  bells,  and  one  building — that  at  Hilo — cost 
about  $14,000.  This  has  been  done  mainly  with  their 
own  money  and  labor. 

But  this  people  have  especially  vindicated  their  claim 
to  a place  among  the  churches  of  the  Lord  by  their 
BENEFICENCE. 

The  Monthly  Concert  was  held  from  the  beginning,  and 
with  it  a contribution  was  always  taken.  They  “ first  gave 
their  own  selves  to  the  Lord,”  and  then  it  was  “ accord- 
ing to  that  a man  hath,”  a fish,  a fowl,  a cocoanut,  and, 
later,  money;  but  in  it  all,  sacrifice  and  worship.  Each 
month,  on  the  first  Sunday  morning,  a sermon  was 
preached  on  some  department  or  interest  of  Christ’s 
kingdom  in  the  broad  world.  They  never  so  much  as 
heard  that  miserable  sentence  of  a narrow  faith,  “ So 
much  to  do  at  home.”  Their  lips  never  uttered  the 
miserly  falsehood,  “ It  takes  another  dollar  to  send  one 
to  the  heathen.”  They  were  instructed  in  all  causes, 
and  gave  to  all.  More  than  $10,000  have  come  to 
the  United  States  from  their  contributions  ; $200  went 
to  a Chinese  mission,  and  $100  to  Syria  at  the  time  of 
the  massacre  and  famine.  The  appeal  of  Father  Chin- 
quiy,  in  Kankakee,  Illinois,  reached  them  ; and  when 
the  letter  which  brought  him  $200  from  these  poor  Isl- 
anders was  read,  his  whole  congregation  bowed  down 
weeping.  Their  monthly  collections  have  averaged 
from  the  beginning  about  $100,  the  highest  reaching 
$265  and  the  grand  aggregate  for  all  religious  purposes 
amounts  to  above  $100,000.  And  they  have  done  more- 
They  have  given  themselves.  Twelve  of  their  number, 
wholly  sustained  by  the  church  that  sent  them,  have 
gone  out  as  foreign  missionaries,  2,000  miles  to  the  dark 
islands  beyond. 

1871. 


22 


CONCLUSION. 

After  an  absence  of  more  than  thirty  years,  Mr.  Coan 
in  1870  visited  this  country.  While  here  he  exercised 
his  superabundant  strength  in  visiting  twenty  of  our 
States  and  Territories,  making  in  all  two  hundred  and 
thirty-nine  missionary  addresses.  Upon  his  return  the 
evening  of  his  days  was  spent  as  pastor  of  the  large 
church  at  Hilo,  and  in  apostolic  supervision  of  the  other 
churches  which  had  sprung  up  under  his  care. 

A few  months  since,  in  the  midst  of  a special  interest 
among  his  people,  he  was  suddenly  smitten  with  a para- 
lytic shock.  After  some  weeks  of  utter  helplessness,  at 
the  ripe  age  of  almost  eighty-two  years,  he  “passed  out 
of  toil  into  rest.” 

We  can  think  of  no  more  beautifully-ordered  de- 
parture than  his.  It  seemed  eminently  fitting  that  he 
who  had  labored  with  such  restless  energ}'  should  show 
that,  at  his  Lord’s  bidding,  he  could  also  suffer  and 
wait.  It  was  meet  and  right  that  a life  which  had  wit- 
nessed such  scenes  of  revival  should  have  given  its  last 
labors  in  ardent  efforts  for  lost  souls,  and  that  in  the 
midst  of  the  toils  of  a season  of  refreshing  from  the  Most 
High,  the  tense  bow  should  have  broken.  There  was  a 
divine  and  delightful  fitness  that  the  spirit  of  the  aged 
warrior  should  ascend  to  its  reward,  the  gracious  con- 
flict still  raging,  from  the  very  battle-field  where  such 
amazing  triumphs  of  infinite  love  had  been  achieved. 
1883. 


What  is  termed  The  Great  Revival  at  the  Sandwich  Islands 
may  be  said  to  have  commenced  in  the  year  1836  and  to 
have  extended  to  1842.  The  missionaries  first  sighted  the 
snowy  summit  of  Mauna  Kea,  eighty  miles  away,  March  30, 
1820.  They  found  a people  in  the  utter  moral  and  physical 
degradation  of  savage  life.  It  opens  a rift  into  the  darkness  of 
heir  condition  to  know  that  “the  thought  of  the  chief ” was 
the  only  law ; that  marriage  and  the  family  constitution  were 


23 


almost  unknown ; and  that  at  least  two  thirds  of  the  infants 
perished  by  the  hands  of  their  own  parents.  To  their  own  un- 
utterable corruption  had  been  added  the  worst  vices  of  civili- 
zation and  their  consequent  diseases.  Through  infanticide 
and  other  crimes  three'fourths  of  the  women  were  childless, 
and  the  population  of  the  Islands  was  diminished  each  year  by 
several  thousand.  It  was  in  this  desperate  condition  of  things 
that  the  remedial  forces  of  the  gospel  began  their  work.  There 
were  favoring  providences.  Just  before  the  missionary  arrived, 
partly  from  caprice,  partly  from  a desire  for  greater  license, 
possibly  also  from  some  dim  sense  of  their  futility,  the  tabu 
had  been  broken  and  idolatry  abolished.  Doubtless  behind  it 
all  was  the  hand  of  a divine  providence.  The  same  divine 
hand  gave  the  missionaries  from  the  first  a degree  of  accep- 
tance with  the  king  and  the  high  chiefs,  and  especially  with 
some  really  noble  women.  And  where  these  led  the  way  the 
people,  accustomed  to  the  most  abject  servitude,  easily  fol- 
lowed. It  must  be  said  to  the  infinite  shame  of  our  civilization 
that  the  worst  and  most  dangerous  opposition  came  from  for- 
eign ship-masters  and  their  dissolute  and  desperate  crews.  To 
this,  however,  there  were  some  marked  and  most  helpful  excep 
tions. 

We  now  turn  forward  the  leaves  of  this  history  sixteen  years. 
The  signs  have  been  so  hopeful  that  the  evangelizing  force  is 
greatly  increased.  Twenty-seven  ordained  missionaries  are  on 
the  ground,  ■with  sixty  helpers,  including  their  wives.  The 
language  has  been  reduced  to  writing.  The  translation  ot  the 
whole  Bible  into  the  Hawaiian  language  is  nearly  completed. 
The  schools  are  crowded  with  pupils,  chiefly  adults.  But  it  is 
thought  encouraging  that  the  parents  have  learned  to  let  their 
children  live,  instead  of  putting  them  to  death.  About  one- 
fourth  of  the  population  can  read.  More  than  a thousand 
Christian  marriages  »re  solemnized  in  the  year.  A code  of 
laws  forbidding  certain  of  the  grosser  vices,  with  a Bill  of  Rights, 
has  been  voluntarily  adopted.  The  seventeen  congregations 
have  an  average  attendance  of  14,500,  or  about  900  each.  And 
in  the  fifteen  churches  are  1,049  members.  And  now  the  spring 
of  the  years  of  mighty  refreshing  comes  on  apace.  The  hearts 


24 


of  multitudes  in  the  home  land  are  wonderfully  drawn  out  in 
prayer.  The  spirit  of  grace  and  of  supplication  is  poured  forth 
with  unusual  power  upon  the  missionaries.  Protracted  meet, 
ings  are  held.  Great  throngs  of  from  2,000  to  6,000  flock  to  the 
lhalch-covered  plac(  s of  worship,  or  lift  up  their  cries  for  mercy 
and  their  rude  songs  in  the  shade  of  tropic  groves.  The 
missionaries,  with  a wisdom,  zeal  and  power  which 
seem  from  above,  preach,  guide,  instruct,  warn,  entreat,  re- 
buke. And  the  mightily  converting  grace  of  God  comes  upon 
the  people.  This  continues  several  years.  The  converts,  that 
the  reality  of  their  experience  may  be  tested,  are  kept  as  can 
didates  for  from  six  months  to  two  years  and  then  comes  the 
ingathc  ring.  In  1839,  5 403  are  r<  ceived  into  the  churches ; in 
1840,  10,725 ; in  1841,  4,179;  in  1842,  1,473;  from  the  commence- 
ment of  the  mission,  22,806. 

Now  we  turn  forward  to  1870,  the  year  the  American  Board 
gave  these  churches  over  to  their  own  care,  and  what  is  the 
summing  up? — 58  independent,  self-supporting  churches,  44  of 
them  in  charge  of  a native  ministry — with  a membership  of  14,- 
850— about  one  fourth  of  the  entire  population.  That  year  they 
gave  $30,000  to  various  Christian  objects.  Thirty  per  cent,  ot 
their  ministers  are  foreign  missionaries  to  the  dark  islands  be- 
yond. Twenty-two  per  cent,  of  their  contributions  are  for  the 
foreign  field;  $1,500  was  expended  upon  Chinese  emigrants. 
Their  120  church  buildings  are  valued  at  a quarter  of  a million 
of  dollars.  Such  is  the  result  through  the  blessing  of  God  upon 
the  faith  and  toil  of  forty  ordained  missionaries  with  their 
wives  and  consecrated  lay-helpers.  The  spirit  of  the  whole 
movement  is  beautifully  symbolized  by  the  speech  of  the  vet- 
eran native  missionary  Kanwealoha  on  the  15th  of  June,  1870. 
In  the  presence  of  his  king,  foreign  diplomats,  old  missionaries, 
and  a great  assembly,  he  held  aloft  the  Hawaiian  Bible  saying, 
i‘  Not  with  powder  and  ball,  and  swords  and  cannon,  but  with 
this  living  Word  of  God,  and  with  his  Spirit,  do  we  go  forth  to 
conquer  the  Islands  for  Christ.” 


